Cooks, Restaurant vs Cooks, Short Order: $37K vs $36K Median Pay

Cooks, Restaurant vs Cooks, Short Order: what changes?

Consider Cooks, Restaurant if you want to prepare, season, and cook dishes such as soups, meats, vegetables, or desserts in restaurants. Consider Cooks, Short Order if you would rather prepare and cook to order a variety of foods that require only a short preparation time. Both list no formal educational credential; compare training and prior experience separately. Prior experience in a related occupation is typically needed for Cooks, Restaurant (less than 5 years).

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Cooks, Restaurant and Cooks, Short Order. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Cooks, Restaurant

National median pay (2025): $37,390
Route into the job: No formal educational credential; Prior related experience: less than 5 years; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: Prior related experience: less than 5 years.
Training and licensing: More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Ensure food is stored and cooked at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 218,600

Know before you choose

BLS lists less than 5 years of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.

See the full Cooks, Restaurant brief

Cooks, Short Order

National median pay (2025): $35,880
Route into the job: No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Clean food preparation equipment, work areas, and counters or tables.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 17,400

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 5.2% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Cooks, Short Order brief

How the national numbers differ

Cooks, Restaurant has the edge on projected growth

Cooks, Restaurant is at 12.1% projected growth, compared with -5.2% projected growth for Cooks, Short Order.

Cooks, Restaurant has the edge on annual openings

Cooks, Restaurant is at 218,600 annual openings, compared with 17,400 annual openings for Cooks, Short Order.

Cooks, Restaurant has the edge on median pay

Cooks, Restaurant is at $37,390, compared with $35,880 for Cooks, Short Order.

67.2/ 100

Cooks, Restaurant

39.6/ 100

Cooks, Short Order

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Cooks, Restaurant vs Cooks, Short Order

Dimension	Cooks, Restaurant	Cooks, Short Order
Median pay (2025)	$37,390	$35,880
Pay percentile	7.1 percentile	5.1 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	12.1%	-5.2%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	218,600	17,400
2025 employment	1,417,500	138,700
How you qualify	No formal educational credential; Prior related experience: less than 5 years; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing	No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 2	Job Zone 2
Related work experience	Prior related experience: less than 5 years.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Cooks, Restaurant brief Read Cooks, Short Order brief

Cooks, Restaurant vs Cooks, Short Order: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Cooks, Restaurant

Cooks, Short Order

How the national numbers differ

Cooks, Restaurant has the edge on projected growth

Cooks, Restaurant has the edge on annual openings

Cooks, Restaurant has the edge on median pay

Cooks, Restaurant vs Cooks, Short Order

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